Who will be Together?
by caldude
Summary: I appreciate constructive feedback so please review. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

I missed summer already. Yes, I like the warm days when the sun never sets and the days when no homework takes you away from enjoying it. I missed Otto. At camp, we met and stayed together. If distance were not a factor, we would still be holding hands, watching the sunset in some secluded location. Yet distance was and is a factor, Otto is gone and he is not coming back. I still remember him saying, "Bye Russell," as he waved to me as his car drove past the tall ponderosa pine trees. A tear trickling down my cheek, I raised my hand and waved back to him. Never again would I stare into his mysterious eyes. Never again would I listen to his songs which sounded better than any superstar today.

I needed a new boyfriend. Long term relationships were not for me. Yes, I could always email Otto or skype him but it was different. You cannot use skype to eat together in your favorite restaurant. You cannot use skype to go to the mall together. You cannot use skype to go to a movie. Actually, you could but do you really want to carry your computer into the theater with you? Forget it! I missed the confidentiality in our conversations, I missed the mutual trust but most importantly, I missed the togetherness. Who would the new boyfriend be? Kevin, my former boyfriend was still in the closet and shoved me away when I tried to talk to him last year. Did the summer warm him up? If I could just find him and talk to him…

"We have so many new transfer students this year," a girl said, pushing past me with her friend. As she saw me, a frown formed on her face and she slowly shifted to the other side of the hallway. No surprise, the gay kid always got dirty looks. I ignored her.

I opened the brown door to the GSA meeting. It would be fantastic if we picked up new people. Our club needed to expand so it was not just the original group, minus Kevin and Terese. We added Gunnar. If he were not my best friend, he would not be here though. I looked around the room to see that Min had arranged the tables in a circle and I sat down in an open one with Gunnar on the left and Min on the right.

A minute later, Min cleared her throat and said, "Welcome back everyone. I hope you all had a great summer. As you may have noticed, we do not have any new people."

"No one wants the suspicison," Gunnar said. "Fear is powerful. Wait, where's Ike?"

"Where is he?" Belinda asked. "He's still here, right?"

"Ike had a terrible accident," Min said. "A week ago, two guys discovered Ike was gay. As he was walking home from the mall, they threw a large rock at him. It hit his head and when they found him, blood was pouring out of the gash."

"Yikes!" Belinda said. "You can stop now."

"It's fine, Ike did not die and will not die. The worst is over but he is not coming back for a few days."

A tear trickled down Belinda's cheek as she wiped it. "We should cheer him up," she suggested.

"Good point," said Gunnar. "He must be emotionally hurt too."

"Let's throw him a party," Belinda said. "I make delicious chocolate chip cookies. You gotta try them."

"Good idea but nope," Min said. "Parties only last an hour. We need to keep Ike happy permanently. That head injury will hurt for awhile. This is why I have decided we find Ike a boyfriend."

I almost shook my head but stopped myself. Sorry Ike, I have nothing against you but we are not going to date. You do not look horrible but our personalities do not mesh. Unlike you, I can care less about politics and I know you are jealous that I got Kevin so you probably hate me.

"No Russell, I was not thinking of you," Min laughed. I never figured out how she could read my mind so well. She knew I liked Kevin from the beginning and who knows what else.

"Do you guys know any other gay people?" Brian asked. This was the first time he spoke today. Brian, our newest member was the total outcast in school but he was not gay, despite popular opinion.

"We have to find them," Min said. "The problem is that we cannot go around asking people if they are gay."

"It will make us look like idiots and do I really want to do that?" I asked. "People know I am gay, they will think I am flirting. We should just stick to the party. I…can make really good…strawberry shortcake…yeah."

Min nearly laughed. "Russell, we know you cannot even make sugar cookies. Quit the drama, we need to think."

Gunnar tapped his chin for a minute and said, "Maybe one of the political nerds Ike hangs out with is gay. They already know him well and share the same interests."

Min shrugged. "I guess we can start there. How do we find out though?"

"They are mostly liberal so they'll support gay rights and everyone knows they will. Get some to come to the meeting, then we can check."

"Sounds like a plan," said Min. "I will talk to them."

I grumbled as I walked out of the room. Once Min set her mind to something, she never buckled and she always succeeded. Last summer, she took Web who I wanted. He was an absolutely gorgeous guy over 6 feet tall, a mysterious smile, his brown hair was so clean and those legs were just killers. Min taking him though was a mistake because he cheated on her but still…Anyway, I was the one who needed a boyfriend, not Ike. As long as Min could force Ike to go with personality, not looks, I was fine. No, I care about personality too but I must have an honest nice guy who is hot! They go together and they must stay together! Kevin had the latter and usually had the former. Whoever Ike would get, it would not be Kevin!

As school ended the next day and I slammed my locker door shut, Kevin swaggered past me. Here was my chance!


	2. Chapter 2

One scan of the hallway was enough to tell me that we were alone. Just like at the gazebo, when Kevin first revealed his true identity to me, it was just us, him and I. After that, our relationship began and it was the best month of my life…until the end of summer camp which is an entirely different story for an entirely different day. Anyway, if I did not act, it would be just me alone at the gazebo. "Hey Kevin?" I asked as I walked over quickly, again making sure no one was watching.

Kevin quickly turned around toward me, "Yo, what's up?" he asked. His expression changed when he realized who it was. "Um…Russ, this is not the right time."

Again, I quickly scanned the hallway. "Actually it is," I said. "There is no one here. We need to talk. I have wanted to have this conversation for awhile."

Kevin shook his head. "Listen Russ…, I am cool with you but everyone knows you're gay."

"Kevin, I came out and I know you can too. When we were together, you said you like who take risks. I came out and if that's not a risk, I do not know what is," I said, folding my arms.

"Bro, I gotta keep my friends," Kevin said. "You know them, they will never talk to me again if I come out."

"Then we need to meet privately like before," I said. "We will go to the pink gazebo, just like the old times. No one caught us." Even I could sense that my words were floating.

Apparently, Kevin agreed. "Again Russ, I just can't stay with you."

"The Kevin I knew would stay with me," I said. "All you care about is yourself."

"Well, maybe I do," Kevin replied. "Maybe I do not even want to talk with you anymore."

He turned and stormed down the hallway. "Wait!" I shouted but Kevin ignored me. I shook my head and sat down next to my locker. What had I done? I should have played it safe and not become so argumentative. Then again, I could not let Kevin walk all over me. I needed a better plan, I needed to lead the conversation and rehearse it properly. Instead of just waiting for the first chance to talk to Kevin, I had to set it up, slowly and deliberately. Yeah, these ideas seem cool but will they work? Wanting to plan out a conversation is easier said than done. A tear fell down my cheek as I wiped my face. Why was Kevin such a coward? No one caught us before, no one will catch us now. I know we can get back together.

"Hey Russ," a voice said. I looked up to see Belinda smiling at me.

"Hey Belinda," I said, weakly waving my hand. Although Belinda was definitely sweet and understanding, I was not sure if I wanted to tell her about Kevin.

"So, guess what? I found him!" Belinda said, smiling.

"Who?" I asked.

"Ike's boyfriend," Belinda said. "Russ, Min told me you like Kevin so no, it's not him."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought Min might try to set Kevin up with Ike because she was jealous of me. Last summer, I found a guy but she found nobody. Anyway, trying to find Ike a boyfriend instead of me was pretty mean of her. "So, who is it?" I asked, guessing one of the political kids or maybe some closeted jock (although I was sure Kevin was the only one.)

"Nope," Belinda said. "It's one of the transfers actually. I work in the school office so I know he is new here." I almost laughed, remembering how Belinda discovered our club because she worked in the office.

"So, how do we know he is gay?" I asked.

"I overheard him say he likes guys. Also, he is perfect for Ike. This guy is a Senior like us but he was held back last year! This guy is so hot and I want him but if he is gay…nope. His hair is so wonderful, I love his expression, his brown eyes are amazing and have you seen his hair?..."

Belinda seemed to have forgotten for a moment that I was gay and just as interested in guys as she was. I know Min liked talking about hot guys in front of me but why was Belinda doing it now? Anyway, this guy looked pretty similar to another guy I knew and disliked.

"What's his name?" I asked, noticing how familiar this guy was to someone else.

"Some people called to him as he walked past them. His name was…no, that wasn't it," Belinda said.

My face felt tense. "Just spit it out," I said. Inside my mind, I said, "Please have your name not be Web."

"I was walking by and someone called out to him saying "Hey Bast" or something," Belinda said.

I almost breathed a sigh of relief. The name did not begin a W but had I heard a name with "Bast" in it before? Something in my head poked me, I definitely have but where?

"Now we have to set up Ike and him," Belinda said. I very nearly shook my head. I was the one who needed a boyfriend and if Kevin said no, then I wanted this guy.


End file.
